1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus and method for determining orientation, and more particularly, to an apparatus and system for determining the angular orientation of an object throughout a range of rotation about at least one axis of rotation.
2. Description of the Background Art
Presently, there exists many types of optical sensing devices designed to detect orientation of an object. In general, however, the prior art devices designed to determine the orientation of an object are very complex and expensive to manufacture. None of the prior art orientation sensing devices provide for a simple inexpensive means for determining the orientation of an object. Further, many of the prior art devices are highly sensitive to measurement errors.
Some of the prior art devices have achieved orientation sensing through the utilization of transmitted electromagnetic fields, transmitted RF radio signals, computer image processing, computer vision and by way of transmitted optical signals. Representative prior art orientation sensing devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,697,183; 4,488,173; 4,583,862; 4,910,410; 5,187,540; 5,319,577; 5,353,358; and 5,453,686; the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
While the above-referenced prior art orientation devices incorporate a variety of methods to perform orientation measurements of objects, many limitations exist in them such as requiring two-dimensional image processing, requiring a plurality of elements to be placed on the object to be measured, requiring active components to be placed on the object and many of the prior art devices exhibit a high sensitivity to measurement error. A major inadequacy associated with the prior art orientation devices is that they are very complex, difficult to operate, difficult to manufacture and expensive.
Further, many orientation-sensing devices of the prior art are utilized in golf swing training aids. Representative golf swing training aids utilizing optical and various other technologies for sensing aspects, such as orientation or club head speed, associated with the swinging of a golf club are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,194,563; 3,895,366; 4,136,387; 4,137,566; 4,146,230; 4,155,555; 4,251,077; 4,254,956; 4,304,406; 4,341,384; and 5,257,084, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
While the above-referenced golf swing training aids of the prior art operate to sense and track orientation and speed in one form or another, none provide a simple and inexpensive means for obtaining instantaneous, highly accurate angular orientation measurements of the golf club head. Accordingly, it was realized that an apparatus and system should be provided for overcoming the inadequacies of the prior art.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the optical sensing art.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and system for determining the angular orientation of an object that utilizes an orientation dependent reflector placed on the object for obtaining angular orientation measurements.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and system for determining the angular orientation of an object that utilizes a combination of orientation dependent and orientation independent reflectors placed on an object to obtain absolute angular orientation measurements.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and system for determining the angular orientation of an object that utilizes a specular-dome reflector for simultaneously determining angular orientation measurements in two axes of interest.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and system for determining the angular orientation of an object that utilizes a retro reflector in combination with a specular-dome reflector to obtain instantaneous absolute angular orientation measurements.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and system for determining the angular orientation of an object that does not require the placement of active components on the object to be measured.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and system for determining the angular orientation of an object that has substantially reduced error sensitivity.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and system for determining the angular orientation of an object that permits the range of measurement and sensitivity to be tailored to the needs of a specific application.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and system for determining the angular orientation of an object that is simple to operate and inexpensive to manufacture.
Another object of this invention is to provide an optical system for determining the angular orientation of an object throughout a range of rotation about at least one axis of rotation, the optical system comprising in combination: an orientation dependent reflection means for providing an optical reflection that varies in position in correspondence to specific orientations about the axis of interest, the orientation dependent reflection means capable of being coupled to the object; a light source means for providing an optically-detectable beam of light, the light source means being positioned at a distance from the orientation dependent reflection means; and a light sensing means for detecting optical reflections on the orientation dependent reflection means so to facilitate the determination of angular orientation, the light sensing means being positioned adjacent the light source means, whereby the light source means projects the optically detectable beam of light towards the orientation dependent reflection means whereupon points of reflection are determined thereon by the light sensing means and the angular orientation of the object is determined.
The foregoing has outlined some of the pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or by modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a more comprehensive understanding of the invention may be obtained by referring to the summary of the invention, and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.